After working in biomedical research for 15 years, I have been the biobank collection manager at Naturalis since May 2026. It is a great combination of my affinity for biology and my experience with biobanking. I view it as an exciting challenge to build, maintain, and expand this “modern” collection as professionally as possible, right from the ground up.
Keywords
Biobank, DNA, tissue, ARISE, eDentity, research
The collection
The biobank collection consists of DNA extracts and tissue samples, which are stored under refrigerated conditions to best preserve their quality. In addition, the collection often includes the voucher specimens from which the DNA extracts and/or tissue samples were obtained.
The collection currently comprises approximately 150,000 DNA extracts and 3,000 tissue samples, most of which still need to be organized and digitized. In addition, the collection often includes the physical specimens from which the DNA extracts and/or tissue samples were taken, allowing researchers to refer back to these voucher specimens. Ultimately, the collection needs to be made accessible to optimally facilitate research by both internal and external researchers.
The Naturalis biobankas a research infrastructure
The ARISE project aims to map the multicellular species of the Netherlands, including at the DNA level. These DNA extracts are stored in the biobank, alongside the physical specimens whenever possible. This provides Naturalis with a DNA reference collection covering the entire spectrum of Dutch biodiversity.
The eDentity project monitors Dutch biodiversity using so-called environmental DNA. By extracting DNA from water, soil, and air samples and identifying the species to which the DNA belongs, the status of Dutch biodiversity can be tracked. Some of these DNA extracts will be incorporated into the biobank to serve as references for this biodiversity monitoring. Naturalis aims to have its research infrastructures work closely together, so they work with one and the same biobank.
Currenttopics
A selection of the topics I am currently working on.
ARISE: knowing Nature in the Netherlands
